New Putting Course at Lake Marion Golf Course

The 35,000-square-foot Palmetto Traverse is based of the Himalayas putting course at St. Andrews.

By Brian Weis

An 18-hole, 35,000-square-foot putting course is being constructed at Lake Marion Golf Course in Santee, S.C.

"Palmetto Traverse" will be located at Lake Marion Golf Course adjacent to the Lake Marion Villa & Townhouse Complex. The layout has been designed by golf course architect and Donald Ross restoration specialist Kris Spence and Spence Golf Design.

Construction on the putting course is underway, with an expected opening in late August.

"We are always looking for ways to make the overall experience at our facility better and more exciting. The trend in putting course construction caught our attention and we happened to have the perfect piece of property to build something extremely unique for our area," said Todd Miller, general manager of Santee Cooper Resort.

Spence said the complex - which is being constructed using USGA sub surface drainage and rootzone, and will be topped with a Tifeagle Ultradwarf surface - also will include a pair of small bunkers within the surface area, and a small central grassy island with a sitting area and landscaping. The internal contours include plateaus, terraces, swales, rolls, valleys, spines and slopes that will provide abundant variety testing the best player to beginner.

"The green will include most every feature a golfer might experience when playing golf around the world," said Spence, who is based in Greensboro, N.C.

Spence has renovated, restored or worked on nearly three-dozen golf courses in North Carolina, most notably Sedgefield CC, site of the PGA Tour's annual Wyndham Championship, Roaring Gap Club, Country Club of North Carolina's Dogwood Course, Forsyth CC, Mimosa Hills, Grove Park, Cape Fear and Myers Park.

The concept for Palmetto Traverse is based on the Himalayas putting course at St. Andrews in Scotland and will be akin to the Thistle Dhu putting course at the Pinehurst Resort in Pinehurst, N.C.

The green is conveniently located behind the Lake Marion GC clubhouse and golf shop near the multiple golf villas on the property, just steps away from the front door of the villas and pool area.

"I think this will especially appeal to those golfers staying on the property wanting something else to do following their round on the course," said Spence. "The design should provide some wild fun, with putts as long as 260 feet possible and over some of the most varied terrain I have ever designed into a putting surface."

Among budget-conscious golfers, Santee has morphed into a revered year-round destination. Located on the south shore of Lake Marion, South Carolina's largest freshwater lake where a number of world records have been set through the years for largemouth catfish and bass, Santee is convenient - dissected by Interstate 95 almost exactly halfway between New York and Miami - and just off Interstate 26, midway between the Palmetto State's popular cities Charleston and Columbia.

Miller said the plan is to plant and sprig the putting green around June 1 with an expected opening between mid-August and Sept 1, 2019.

A green fee for the 18-hole putting course will be included in all-inclusive, stay-and-play packages booked through Santee Cooper Golf & Travel. There will be a nominal fee for those pulling off I-95 to play.

"We expect many the Palmetto Traverse will be a big hit with the I-95, as well as families from Charleston, Columbia and the surrounding area," Miller said.

Revised: 02/01/2019 - Article Viewed 12,353 Times - View Course Profile

About: Brian Weis

Brian Weis is the mastermind behind GolfTrips.com, a vast network of golf travel and directory sites covering everything from the rolling fairways of Wisconsin to the sunbaked desert layouts of Arizona. If there’s a golf destination worth visiting, chances are, Brian has written about it, played it, or at the very least, found a way to justify a "business trip" there.

As a card-carrying member of the Golf Writers Association of America (GWAA), International Network of Golf (ING), Golf Travel Writers of America (GTWA), International Golf Travel Writers Association (IGTWA), and The Society of Hickory Golfers (SoHG), Brian has the credentials to prove that talking about golf is his full-time job. In 2016, his peers even handed him The Shaheen Cup, a prestigious award in golf travel writing—essentially the Masters green jacket for guys who don’t hit the range but still know where the best 19th holes are.

Brian’s love for golf goes way back. As a kid, he competed in junior and high school golf, only to realize that his dreams of a college golf scholarship had about the same odds as a 30-handicap making a hole-in-one. Instead, he took the more practical route—working on the West Bend Country Club grounds crew to fund his University of Wisconsin education. Little did he know that mowing greens and fixing divots would one day lead to a career writing about the best courses on the planet.

In 2004, Brian turned his golf passion into a business, launching GolfWisconsin.com. Three years later, he expanded his vision, and GolfTrips.com was born—a one-stop shop for golf travel junkies looking for their next tee time. Today, his empire spans all 50 states, and 20+ international destinations.

On the course, Brian is a weekend warrior who oscillates between a 5 and 9 handicap, depending on how much he's been traveling (or how generous he’s feeling with his scorecard). His signature move" A high, soft fade that his playing partners affectionately (or not-so-affectionately) call "The Weis Slice." But when he catches one clean, his 300+ yard drives remind everyone that while he may write about golf for a living, he can still send a ball into the next zip code with the best of them.

Whether he’s hunting down the best public courses, digging up hidden gems, or simply outdriving his buddies, Brian Weis is living proof that golf is more than a game—it’s a way of life.